Unit 2nd

RIO CONFERENCE
Introduction
The United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or
the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United
Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June
14, 1992.
Earth Summit was created as a response for member states to

cooperate together internationally on development issues after
the Cold War. Due to issues relating to sustainability being too
big for individual member states to handle, Earth Summit was
held as a platform for other member states to collaborate. Since
the creation, many others in the field of sustainability show a
similar development to the issues discussed in these conferences,
including non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Issues addressed
The issues addressed includes:
 systematic scrutiny of patterns of production—

particularly the production of toxic components, such
as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste including
radioactive chemicals
 alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil
fuels which delegates linked to global climate change
 new reliance on public transportation systems in order to
reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the
health problems caused by polluted air and smoke
 the growing usage and limited supply of water
 importance of protecting the world's oceans.
Development
An important achievement of the summit was an agreement on

the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto
Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Another agreement was to "not
to carry out any activities on the lands of indigenous peoples that
would cause environmental degradation or that would be
culturally inappropriate".
The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature

at the Earth Summit and made a start towards a redefinition of
measures that did not inherently encourage the destruction of
natural ecoregions and so-called uneconomic growth. World
Oceans Day was initially proposed at this conference and has
been recognized since then.
Although President George H. W. Bush signed the Earth

Summit’s Convention on Climate, his EPA Administrator William
K. Reilly acknowledges that U.S. goals at the conference were
difficult to negotiate and the agency’s international results were
mixed, including the U.S. failure to sign the proposed Convention
on Biological Diversity.
Twelve cities were also honored with the Local Government

Honours Award for innovative local environmental programs.
These included Sudbury in Canada for its ambitious program to
rehabilitate environmental damage from the
local mining industry, Austin in the United States for its green
building strategy, and Kitakyūshū in Japan for incorporating an
international education and training component into its
municipal pollution control program.
The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents:
 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development[5][6]

 Agenda 21
 Forest Principles
Moreover, important legally binding agreements (Rio Convention)

were opened for signature:
 Convention on Biological Diversity

 Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
At Rio it was agreed that an International Negotiating Committee

for a third convention the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification would be set up. This convention was negotiated
within two years of Rio and then open for signature it became
effective in 1996 after receiving 50 ratifications. At this stage,
youth were not officially recognised within climate governance.
In order to ensure compliance to the agreements at Rio

(particularly the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development and Agenda 21), delegates to the Earth Summit
established the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).
In 2013, the CSD was replaced by the High-level Political Forum
on Sustainable Development that meets every year as part of the
ECOSOC meetings, and every fourth year as part of the General
Assembly meetings.
Critics point out that many of the agreements made in Rio have
not been realized regarding such fundamental issues as
fighting poverty and cleaning up the environment.
Green Cross International was founded to build upon the work of

the Summit.
The first edition of Water Quality Assessments, published by

WHO/Chapman & Hall, was launched at the Rio Global Forum.
Youth
Although youth were not given specific recognition, there was a

significant youth turnout at UNCED. Youth were involved in
negotiating Chapter 25 of Agenda 21 on Children & Youth in
Sustainable Development.
"It is imperative that youth from all parts of the world participate
actively in all relevant levels of decision-making processes
because it affects their lives today and has implications for their
futures. In addition to their intellectual contribution and their
ability to mobilize support, they bring unique perspectives that
need to be taken into account."
Two years prior to UNCED youth organized internationally to

prepare for the Earth Summit. Youth concerns were consolidated
at a World Youth Environmental Meeting, Juventud (Youth) 92,
held in Costa Rica, before the Earth Summit.
“The involvement of today’s youth in environment and

development decision-making…is critical to the long term
success of Agenda 21” (UNCED 1992).
Parallel to UNCED, youth organized the Youth '92 conference
with participation from around the world. Organising took place
before, but also afterwards. Many youth participants were
dissatisfied with the rate of change.

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RIO CONFERENCE

The United Nations Conference on Environment and

Earth Summit was created as a response for member states to

The issues addressed includes:

 systematic scrutiny of patterns of production—

An important achievement of the summit was an agreement on

The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature

Although President George H. W. Bush signed the Earth

Twelve cities were also honored with the Local Government

The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents:

 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development[5][6]

Moreover, important legally binding agreements (Rio Convention)

 Convention on Biological Diversity

At Rio it was agreed that an International Negotiating Committee

In order to ensure compliance to the agreements at Rio

Green Cross International was founded to build upon the work of

The first edition of Water Quality Assessments, published by

Although youth were not given specific recognition, there was a

Two years prior to UNCED youth organized internationally to

“The involvement of today’s youth in environment and

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